7 Things I Learned This Past Year About Owning a Dog

7 Things I Learned This Past Year About Owning a Dog

For Mother’s Day last year, my husband gave me a puppy. We named her Tessa, but pretty much, she was called Bad Dog, No! since that’s pretty much what she heard on a daily basis. I haven’t had a puppy in several years. I mean like, since I was a kid. I thought I was ready for another dog, since our beloved Sheltie of 12 years had passed away the previous year. I knew I wanted another Sheltie, as they’re intelligent, friendly dogs that make great family pets. When we received our first Sheltie 12 years ago, she was already nine months old, potty trained, and almost past the chewing stage. She was timid, trained very easily, and pretty much followed us around everywhere. I don’t know what I was thinking, but, note to self: not all Shelties are the same. Just because one was a great angelic dog, doesn’t mean they all will be.

Personally, I wanted a black and white dog, one that wouldn’t be a painful reminder of what I had lost. My daughter wanted a reminder of what she had lost. Me, wanting to please my daughter and have her involved with this new dog’s life, we went with the sable colored pup, and the new pup is very close in coloring to what our last dog was. That’s the only thing they had in common.

New pup is named Tessa, my daughter named her after Tessa Grey from Inferno Devices. A fine name for a pretty female Shetland sheepdog, maybe just a bit close to the dog we lost, named Trixi. There are times when I would mistakenly call Tessa, Trixi, but then again, I often call my children by the wrong names, too, when I am yelling at them. And yelling, I seem to do often, especially with this pup. Here’s what I learned this past year while raising a puppy:

One, puppies are a lot of work, and I mean a lot of work. They whine and cry during the night and you have to take them out unless you want to clean up puppy pee the next morning. And then, even when you do let them out at midnight, and then again, at 3 a.m. you still step in puppy pee the next morning. This lasted for quite a while until her bladder grew large enough to hold her pee longer. Just as when my now teen aged children were infants, I was woken up during the night several times to a crying, whimpering pup, who didn’t always have to go pee, but just wanted to play. I’m not very playful at 3:30 a.m. when I have to be up in a few hours to go to work. In fact, I’m down right crabby when I don’t get my sleep.

Two, Shelties are barkers. I didn’t know this. Our other dog, Trixi, barely barked, maybe when a stranger was approaching the house, but that was about it. I had no idea how “barky” Shelties were because ours never barked. This one. Oh. My. God. She barks non-stop. You open the front door, she barks. Open the garage door, she barks. Go up the stairs, she barks. Close the dishwasher, she barks. She especially barks, when anyone hugs. Seriously, I try to hug my husband or my children, and she goes crazy! And I’m talking not like a cute little, oh, that’s a sweet bark type of bark, but an ear piercing, holy crap, that barking is driving me mad, type of bark. I read that you should squirt the dog with water when they bark to teach them not to bark. Uh, yea, doesn’t stop the barking. In fact, I think she’s become immune to it and actually enjoys the water.

Three, everything is fair game when it comes to chewing. If something is left on the floor or within reach for her, it’s hers. This dog loves to chew. We’ve spent what seems like hundreds of dollars on chew toys to try and get her to not chew on what she shouldn’t, and she does chew those, to bits and pieces. If it’s a stuffed dog toy, she shreds it, pulls out the squeaker, and leaves a trail of stuffing throughout the house. It’s kind of like living with the furry version of Sid, the evil kid next door who dismantled toys, in Disney’sA Toy Story. She doesn’t just stop at toys, but also shoes, belts, underwear, briefcases, student papers that you hadn’t gotten to grade yet; basically, anything that’s on the floor she claims as her own and puts her mark on it. And by mark, I mean teeth marks. You should have seen the people at For Eyes optical when I took in my chewed up glasses case and glasses that were only 2 months old. Let me tell you, dog chewing isn’t covered by the warranty. She’s also very good at emptying coat pockets. If you ever come to visit us, please don’t leave your jacket over the back of a chair, she’ll go through your pockets and take out your keys, your chewing gum, and even a tampon that you had in there for emergencies. I learned to hide my shoes and place anything of importance up off the floor.

Four, Shelties need a lot of exercise. These dogs are natural herders. They like to run. They need to run. She has all this energy that she needs to expel. I have learned that she is much better behaved when we take her to the dog park and she can run freely with the other dogs. Or when we take her outside and play soccer or Frisbee with her, though once she gets those items, she chews them, but still, she will run and chase after them first. Having my Sheltie has definitely kept me in better shape. I find that I walk with her, play with her, even run with her. As much as I want to be sedentary, she doesn’t allow me to. She gives me those big puppy dog eyes, rings the bell on the front door, and wants me to go out with her. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. She’s looking out for my health!

Five, she eats some really strange things. I read that carrots and sweet potatoes were healthy for dogs. She loves them, can’t get enough of them. When I’m making dinner, I have to make sure I have a few extra raw carrots for her. She also loves ice cubes. It’s really funny at times, she can be sound asleep at the other end of the house, yet will come running when she hears the freezer door open! The dog loves to eat ice cubes. She tosses them into the air, chases them around the hardwood floors, and then crunches them like they were the best treat in the world. She also eats cat poop. It’s a race to see who gets to the litter box first, her or me. If I don’t scoop the poop as soon as the cat goes, she happily munches down on it. Gross, I know! So I learned to clean the litter box quickly. 

Six, she and the cat are best friends. Well, okay, maybe frienemies. There are times when the dog is relentless and the poor cat is growling and hissing, which the dog takes as, oh wow, the cat really enjoys this, let me chase him some more, and until we say to the dog, “drop it” or “leave it”, she continues to torture the cat. You’d think the cat hates it, but secretly, the cat loves it. How do I know? Because when the dog is sleeping, the cat will sneak up on her and do something playful, will come lay with the dog, or will even start grooming the dog. There have even been times when the dog and cat are in cahoots together. The cat will jump on the counter, knock something to the floor, and the dog will enjoy the benefits of something new to chew on. I’m pretty sure that’s how my glasses had gotten partially eaten.

Seven, even though she barks, runs to the neighbors house as soon as I open the door to let her out, and chew shoes, she knows when I need a hug. I don’t know how she does it, but she seems to sense when I’m in a sour mood, sad, or just need a hug. She will jump up on the couch next to me, and lay her head on my lap. I was distraught when my grandmother passed away this year, and as soon as I hung up the phone, the dog was right there, comforting me. When I had become ill, and missed almost a full week of work, she lay with me everyday, keeping me company. So I learned, that even though the dog was more work than I thought it would be, loves to chew anything personal, likes to eat full rolls of toilet paper right off the holder, barks like crazy, and rips toys to shreds, she really isn’t always Bad Dog, No!, but can be Good Girl, Tessa, more often than not. It takes a lot of patience on my part, and some real effort on her part. But as she grows, we are learning about each other, and coming to an understanding. This past year, she has taught me patience, kindness, and love exists between cats and dogs. She has also taught me to pick up after myself and not leave things on the floor. Most importantly, she has taught me that dogs need guidance and unconditional love. I can’t just expect her to know these things innately, but have to train her not to chew, not to bark, and not to eat cat poop, and I need to love her no matter what, as she loves me, despite all my faults.